A man who murdered a female relative in a Gaza hospital last Friday
is claiming the murder was to preserve "family honor" to "escape
judicial punishment."

The Palestinian Authroty amended its laws to end leniency for so-
called honor killings in Judea and Samaria in May 2011, but the law
has not been changed in Hamas-run Gaza.

The Gaza-based Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights said reduced
sentences - a maximum of 24 months in jail for severe crimes like
murder - had made "honor" crimes "prevalent in the Palestinian
society and has resulted in opening the door for undermining the
principle of the rule of law."

Al-Mezan called on Hamas to "treat all killings of women as murder
and not to look for extenuating circumstances outside the law."

Gaza police said they have opened an investigation after the man
accused of the hospital killing on Friday was taken into custody.

According to reports, the victim was admitted to Nasser Hospital in
Khan Younis on Thursday night in a critical condition after having
swallowed herbicide. Hospital officials initially registered her as
having attempted suicide.

At 1.30 a.m. Friday the relative entered the hospital and asked about
her condition. When the doctor said she was improving, he threatened
hospital staff with a handgun and fatally shot the victim, 22, in the
head.

The victim was from Khan Younis, married, and the mother of a 18-
month-old child. The suspect turned surrendered to police after the
murder; a brother of the victim has also been detained by Hamas
security forces.

According to a survey by the PA Central Bureau of Statistics, 58.1
percent of women in Gaza have suffered violence by their husbands.